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Cape Town - Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross has claimed someone from West Bromwich Albion intentionally leaked news relating to Saido Berahino's ban in the build up to their Premier League match on Saturday.
Berahino made the move to Stoke from the Baggies in January, following a long transfer saga that began 12 months ago when he was denied the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur.
On top of that the striker was also suspended for three months from October to December by the Football Association.
While there has been no confirmation what the ban was for, news stories began circulating prior to the team's showdown over the weekend that Berahino had tested positive for a recreational drug.
After the match, which West Brom won 1-0, Potters boss Mark Hughes suggested it was no accident the news began to surface so close to the match and Shawcross has backed up his managers statements.
"I was a bit disappointed with the stories coming out the day before, which were obviously no coincidence," he told Sky Sports.
"Someone from West Brom's side must have been speaking to the papers and I was very disappointed with that. I didn't think it was needed.
"But Saido's a great player and he's going to be a great player for us. We need to get him focused on the game and in the next couple of seasons, he'll be scoring a lot of goals."
